Musings and Thoughts (3)

Hard and Fast

June 21st, 2006

Democrats and Liberals are increasingly demanding a deadline for troops to be removed from Iraq. I do not understand the logic.

Based on all the information the right choices were made. Looking back on it today we are doing the right thing, regardless if WMD were found or not. I remember back when the war started, I most remember one news story of Iraqis, living in Michigan of all places, lining up on national TV in support of the action because they knew the suffering their people have endured under Saddam and his sons. I remember the defiance of Saddam and the thumbing his nose at world order. I lost count of the United Nations resolutions ignored.

We attacked Afghanistan after 9/11 because the Taliban harbored Al-Qaida. After defeating Saddam, Al-Qaida increased their numbers in Iraq after declaring a Jihad - insurgents started to swarm into Iraq. During the first few months after the declaration of the end of major conflict various and continuous attacks by insurgents were occurring everywhere within Iraq. Today the attacks are not as frequent and are focused in and around the capital - we are making great progress!

The coalition’s efforts to bring order is in fact breaking up the command and control elements of the Al-Qaida network. To set a “Hard and Fast” deadline for withdraw would do nothing more than set the date for the start of our own destruction. Stay the course, our freedoms depend on it.

Cuss like a Sailor

May 31st, 2006

During my 26 years in the US Navy I have seen some drastic changes, mostly in the name of equality and political correctness. I will admit we had an environment conducive to bad behavior - change is good.

New Navy cuss words;
Dang!
CRAP!
Oops!
Freakin
Heck

Tattoos are regulated and forget about piercings.

We in the Navy are attempting to change the perceptions of “Drunken Sailor”, “Cuss like a Sailor” and “A Sailor has a women in every port”. We are professionals and we should act like them.

Nobody should feel uncomfortable in the work place unless your not doing your job…then you should be shot B)

Border Control

May 30th, 2006

As our country continues to debate over immigration I hope we will always be able to keep our sense of humor about everything.

Presidents Speech

Now that your smiling and relaxed lets talk about something even more important than our control of the borders. :lalala: Food

Countries I think make the best…

Beef - United States
Pork - Germany
Ice Cream - Italy
Pastry - France
Fish dishes - Iceland
Seafood dishes - Spain/Portugal (tie)
Poultry - France
Coffee, Brewed - Italy
Coffee Producer - Jamaica

Of course I expect you to argue, prehaps agree or maybe even add some of your own list. :p

Wedded Bliss

May 28th, 2006

No joke, this is a feel good story! Today marks my wife and I’s 23rd wedding anniversary! I cannot think of a single bad day

23 years 5 weeks ago today I met my wife. That’s right, I knew her 5 weeks the day we took our vows - I proposed after knowing her 1 week, it took the next 4 weeks to find a church that would marry us.

Well, here we are 23 years later, kids all grown up and kicking butt in their chosen professions and we are opening up an Ice Cream and Coffee shop essentually starting another chapter in our lives. Funny thing, I know, without reservation, the store will be a complete success because we make one heck of a great team.

So, for all you out there looking - always know that the right somebody may be the next person you meet, if you feel it is - jump in with both feet and never look back! B)

Items in the mirror are closer than they appear.

May 26th, 2006

I do not expect this election year to be any different than years past. The truth will be distorted and the minds of the voters will be influenced with perceived popular thoughts. I cannot recall an election where prior to it life as we know it will be over just after the election seemingly despite who wins. We will be bombarded with misinformation which will be backed up by some group of professors from some university to lend credibility - I can not think of a time where the losing side rhetoric came true. I watched CSPAN yesterday and one side of the isle was trying to say the other side of the isle was going in the wrong direction yet they would offer no tangible method to accomplish the need - it was just, “your way sucks because you thought of it”.

Of course I don’t want every proposal to just get a green light thru congress and I want the debates to be productive. In election years congressional productivity gives way to party redefining to match the latest poles.

Term limits may be the answer.

Better yet take out the ability to revise or extend remarks and be accountable to everything you say on the house/senate floor - put everything thru a rhetoric panel and if your words contain greater than 60% rhetoric and is deemed idiocy then you will be docked 1 months pay and your constituency’s federal funding will be cut 10% for sending such an idiotic loud mouth to congress.;D

Vote logical - don’t react, think first then act.

Time Warped

May 23rd, 2006

Amazing how time just keeps on ticking. I have not shaved in 2 days now and as I looked in the mirror this morning it appears if I let the beard grow it would all be grey - HOLY CRAP! (I am 43 years old, I know there are tons of you older than me out there but these were my grey hairs!) It started me thinking, funny how a few grey hairs can do that, about mortality and life experiences to date.

My kids have only known life with a computer, and they are all grown and gone!
I remember when Pong came out, I wasn’t very good at it.
We used to have a party line (where a few members of your neighborhood shared a phone line). It wasn’t till late in high school when we got our own line.
I actually recall gas being 32 cents a gallon.
I watched the moon landings - live.
I recall staying up “late” Saturday night to watch SNL because it was actually funny in the beginning.
I remember when AIDS was a chewable weight loss product.
I remember watching Elvis live on TV.
I bought an 8-track tape, new.
Compact disks won’t be cool till you can play them backwards at varying speeds.
I remember when knowing simple DOS commands made you “smart”.
I remember when calculators came out and were not allowed in school - not that you could afford one anyway.
I remember school lunch in my high school was 45 cents, 65 cents for a double lunch!
I remember when calling information was free.

In our house growing up the kid closest to the TV was the remote control.

I could go on and I am sure I will be thinking of more things as the day progresses. It seems this is mid-life. I guess this is the time I should use to go buy a new sports car. Ahhh, nah, I better get out and do yard work while I still can walk erect and not drool on myself, better cheaper plan - call it, “mid-life maturity”. :crazy:

Florida deadly force.

May 18th, 2006

It is legal for Floridians to use deadly force when someone invades their property or if the Floridian feels their life may be in danger. Recently in the news I have seen where alligators in Florida have had their property invaded and they have felt their lives were in danger, they used deadly force. Is the law going to be repealed or is this law just for humans?

Allow the gators to follow the law! B)

Kill big furry thing or die

May 14th, 2006

Teamwork first became a necessity back when the caveman realized a mammoth was just too dang big for one guy. A common goal of the cavemen was survival, it was clear, beat the mammoth or starve to death. Starvation being a horrible death, leaders of the time was able to motivate the rank and file to success with simple logic, “kill big furry thing or die”. (more…)

Why the United States will not have a draft.

May 13th, 2006

There will not be a draft. We are not even close to needing one. I will take the reserve/guard question first.

Every action of call up is in their contract, nobody’s rights are being violated. I find it just plain wrong to think we would have hundreds of thousands reserve/guard members out their drawing pay and benefits for up to 30 years in some cases and have no expectation of a call up. “But I only joined to pay for college” is like saying I only wanted to get married for the sex.

Now the “back door” draft notion. The individual ready reserve (IRR) and fleet reserve (FR) are also contractual and understood. The IRR is contracted the day you initially sign up. It is the initial 8 year obligation each member has when you enlist, your active contract may be anywhere from 2-6 years but your total contract is 8. Up to the conclusion of the 8 years you can be recalled to serve in the same capacity in which you were first discharged. The IRR has been used before, many times. The FR is the time between a members leaving active duty with retirement benefits until a total of 30 years have past. So if I transferred to the FR today, I could still be recalled for another 6 years.

Now what if we exhausted all the IRR/FR and reserve/guard, had them all working and we just needed more people to serve. We have standards that currently turn away more than HALF of the people who apply to serve, even now all services have a waiting list (Delayed entry program), the Navy’s for example has most of our FY-05 mission already identified. We could increase the list of any service by decreasing our self imposed standards, which like I said turn away more than HALF of those who want to serve, call any recruiting station and ask then if you could lower the ASVAB AFQT to 24 as an example for everyone including those with a GED what impact that would have. Ask what the impact would be if the HT/WT standards where relaxed by even 2% to 24%BF or even to the very old standard of 26%. The military is currently congressionally capped at only 10% non-high school graduates. And in the final analysis we do not want any person who does not want to serve. I would rather have an obese, mentally challenged, multi time felon who wants to than a person forced to.

Move along Mr. Media…

May 13th, 2006

Move along Mr. Media, there is nothing to see here…yet. I don’t remember any hype leading up to Brett Farve surpassing Fran Tarkenton in career touchdowns. Passing the guy who is in second place just is not a big deal! Standby Mr. Media, Sports Fans will show up in droves when Barry Bonds is challenging the record that matters.